national parks

Guest blog post from Lynn Addison “National parks are the best idea we ever had,” said Wallace Stegner, American historian, novelist and environmentalist. It’sÂ time to tap in:Â National Public Lands Day is onÂ Sept. 27. That means freeÂ admission to any national park in the U.S. Have you been looking forward to a fall drive through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia or craving a sunset in theÂ Everglades? This could be the day for it. Here are some Instagram shots taken by park lovers …

Two of the country’s most beautiful national parks are reporting an ugly outbreak of illness. The National Park Service is warning visitors going to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks this summer to make an extra effort to wash their hands. In an announcement this week, the park service said 200 people, including visitors and park workers, have been stricken with norovirus, a nasty gastrointestinal illness that is highly contagious. Those sickened were visiting the park in northwestern Wyoming as …

Don’t get me wrong:Â as a lifelong environmentalist, I think that Earth Day (April 22) serves an invaluable purpose both as a celebration of our wondrous planet and as an opportunity to draw attention to the many serious – literally “life threatening” – challenges facing our natural environment.Â The only problem with Earth Day is that it’s a single day once a year, while our responsibility to the environment is 24/7, every day of the year. The good news is …